Rick Robinson - BOOK - 1968 - a primer for understanding baby boomers

Episode Transcript

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You're twenty twenty four election headquarters.Our country's just falling apart and we need
a major change. Fifty five KRZthe Talk Station. It's EtOH six,
fifty five KRCY Talk Station. BrianThomas wishing a very happy Wednesday and happy
to welcome to the fifty five CarsseeMorning Show. Award winning author Rick Robinson,

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He's authored of a dozen top sellingbooks and multiple genres, political thrillers
and literary novels, Coming of Age, Guidance for Folks who didn't number one
Amazon top seller, and humor,often placing numerous books on Amazon top soloists
at the exact same time. Hispolitical and pop culture columns appeared in numerous
political publications, including The Daily Caller, Rare Reason, MKY Magazine, River

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City News Link. I could goon, including the North Kentucky Tribune.
Welcome to the fifty five KRC MorningYou shot to talk about his book nineteen
sixty eight, premier for Understanding BabyBoomers, Rick Robinson, It's great to
have you on the fifty five KARSEMorning Show this morning. Hey Brian,
great, great to hear here fromyou, and I'm hearing the beautiful confines
of New Mexico in the Albuquerque Airport. Maybe the first interview you've ever done

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the company by Muzac. There wego. It is a first. I
hope you are not having to dealwith crowdstrikes, lasting issues for delayed flights,
Rick and safe travels to you.It is amazing, Brian. But
it is still happening. Oh no, happening today. Oh no. Well
we'll have I heeart media aviation expertJay Ratliffe on Thursday to talk about that

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rack. Nineteen sixty eight a really, really pivotal year for United States.
I mean I immediately gravitate to gravitateto the nineteen sixty eight convention, of
course, because it was a majorleague disaster for the Democrats, police and
riot gears skulls getting crack protesters everywhere. But your book is I guess described
as a deep dive into the wholeentire year. You do it month by

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month, correct, do it monthby month, But it is pivotal to
take a look at what's going onright now Brian, and understand and the
similarities that are going on between whatyou just mentioned the Democratic Convention in nineteen
sixty eight in Chicago as it willbe again and what's happening now because you're
looking at a convention. We're outsidethe convention. The people were chanting,

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as you said, Hedberg getting batchedin Chicago and people were standing outside shouting
the whole world's watching. I'm wonderingthis year whether or not the whole world
will be watching, or the wholeworld will be searching Netflix to see what's
on besides the convention. You know, that's a really valid point because one
of the points I wrote down onmy notes that ween talking to talk with

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you. We live in a completelydifferent universe in nineteen sixty eight. If
for no other reason, then we'vegot the Internet. And I say that
because organizing people in nineteen sixty eightrequired you know, mailing and flyers and
the normal kind of pre Internet outreachthat you think of making telephone call.

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So if you remember the free speechmovement, the Students for Democrat Society,
or Vietna anti Vietnam groups of onesfor another, if you want your people
to show up at a convention,you're going to have to reach out to
him, let him know where tobe, when to be. But you
have to do it manually. Nowyou can do a blast text to the
entire world, and you can communicatewith the entire world instantaneously. It's going

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to be interesting to see if thatactually happens in Chicago this time, because
there are still lingering issues very similarto nineteen sixty eight that can could galvanize
people to come to the convention,not the least of which you know.
Linda Johnson got out of the presidentialrace in nineteen sixty eight for numerous reasons,

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however, the most important one beinghis party not liking the way he
was handling the Vietnam War. Butyou have a very similar situation happening right
here, as the Democratic Party issplit on how President bit has handled Gaja.
We have a very big wing ofthe Democratic Party that is pro Palestinian.

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You have, you know, Idon't know if it's split down the
middle, but there is certainly apro Israel pulp pro Palestine divide in the
Democratic Party. Will that lead toany student protest outside hard to tell you.
Well, it sounds likely that itwill. But again taking the wind
out of the protesters' sales, LyndonJohnson I choose not to accept the denomination

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of the party. It turned intoan open convention, so there was a
legitimate, at least on its face, a legitimate reason to get out there
and make an argument for your sideof the case. If you're anti Vietnam,
you're going to be in favor ofan anti Vietnam candidate on the other
side of the legend, And theremay have been a pro Vietnam candidate,
and they obviously there's something to buya debate and fight about. Kamala Harris

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has been anointed. And if thingscontinue down this path, and the screams
and cries of even among folks likeBlack Lives Matter, who are very upset
with the process, but you're goingin with Kamala Harris as the nominee.
The delegates have already said, we'rein favor of her. She's got enough.
She's got twenty nine hundred of themas of yesterday, which is enough
to secure the nomination. So she'seffectively taken the wind out of the open

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convention sales, leading really to nothingto protest about. Perhaps well, one
of the things to remember here,Brian, is that Hubert Humphrey and Kamala
Harris have one very important thing incommon, and that is neither of them
want a primary Now Humphrey went intothe process with a whole bunch of delegates,

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but all of those delegates were throughthe old coronation process of the party's
Republicans of them press both where theywould have caucuses as opposed to primaries to
determine delegate accounts. Humphrey, becauseof it being the old party rule,
got his delegates by going to conventionsand caucuses and closed doored, smoke filled

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rooms. He did not win asingle not a single primary needed at Harris.
Now, the interesting thing is bothparties are. The one thing that
ties it together to is in sixtyeight and in twenty four, both candidates
both parties have to deal with someguy named Robert Kennedy. In sixty eight

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it was the convention was the ghostof Robert Kennedy and where the anti war
movement went. And this time it'swith Robert Kennedy Junior, and where the
anti vax movement goes. Ah seeanti vaxx movement. I don't didn't ever
perceive it as being that large interms of a movement like that's going to
get people off the couch. Youknow, Robert F. Kennedy and his

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being anti vax do you think there'sgoing to be a contingent of anti vax
folks in Chicago this year. Ithink Robert Kennedy Junior pulls t well from
both sides of the aisle and pullsthem into this personal privacy state that both
parties have an interest in. AndI think whether it's ten percent, whether

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it's fifteen percent, when you getdown to the bottom of it, is
still going to have an impact,huh. And that's because people are more
in favor of Robert of Kennedy generthan they are of Kamala Harris from maybe
Donald Trump. But he's not goingto be on the ballot anywhere is he
He is on several ballots as inseveral of the states. And that's one

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of the big differences between sixty eightand twenty four is that in sixty eight
you had a third party candidate inGeorge Wallace. But George Wallace actually had
a strategy to try and win thepresidency. Wallace's strategy was hope, hoping
that all of the segregationist Democrats whowere very, very pissed off at Linda

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Johnson for the Civil Rights Act inthe Fair House, that they would vote
for him and that he would getenough delegates to be able to throw it
into the House of Representatives where theanti segregationist Democrats would throw it them to
Wallace to be president. Now,the one thing that happened in that case
was that Wallace's own ego kept himfrom doing that because he thought he could

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win the country. But you lookat Robert Kennedy. He's only on ballot
in a couple of a handful ofstates, yea, And he really doesn't
have a plan to become president,just a plan to become a thorn in
the side. Well, that maybe his best role, at least as
of right now. It's relegated tothat role. Apparently there are some discussions

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going on between he and the Trumpcampaign as to whether or not there is
a place for him in the Trumpadministration. Well, I guess do you
think that many in the Democrats wouldbe that he would be the secretary of
brain eating worms? Fair enough?Rick is known for his humor, by

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the way, folks and read hisbooks. Well, what of Kamala Harris?
Though? Do you think there aremany within the Democrat Party? Again,
I looked up and point to theBlack Lives Matter posts, and they
are really irked at this coronation ofKamala Harris. They want a democratic process.
They tell you the Democratic Party theylook like a party of hypocrites.
Do you think there are many withinDemocrat camp who feel that way about this

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railroad job that we seem to befacing right now. Again, I would
point to history if you take alook at when in sixty eight they went
through a democratic process but still coronatedat Hubert Humphrey, yeah, the vice
president, to become the nominee.They came out of convention with no chance
whatsoever for Hubert Humphort to be Presidentof the United States. None. It

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was in such disarray, such disarraythat in sixty eight they chase the rules
of the convention to what is verysimilar to what is taking place right now.
And I think the Democrats the onlychance for having a chance is to
go into convention with a candidate andmove forward that way. Would a lot

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of the Democrats like to see ademocratic process, I believe they would.
But the fact of the matter is, if you get into a floor floor
fight and you showed disarray, you'regoing to have another nineteen sixty eight a
Cuber concert coming out and not havinga chance in a blue state to win
well. And I guess the largerlooming question is can Kamala Harris run on

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her well on her policies. Shehas a record that we can all point
to, and she was previously identifiedas the most liberal senator that was elected,
I mean, and a whole slewof very very left leaning, large
social programs that cost literally billions,if not trillions of dollars. I mean,
that's her record, That's who sheis as a candidate. I'm just
wondering whether theater population can abide thiscontinued further further left wing shift in the

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country. You're You're exactly on point, Brian, in that I think,
much like nineteen sixty eight, thisis going to go much more toward policies
than personalities. Let's say say it, if Richard Nixon would have had to
run on his personality, he wouldhave ended up like he did in the

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rate for governor and us not havinghim to kick around anymore. Understood,
But it went to policies against Humphrey, who you know. I thought it
was interesting at the time and goingback and doing the research, Humphrey actually
didn't even have the support of theprogressive side of his party. They didn't
think he was liberal enough. Yeah, and which is interesting because at the

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time I thought you were very humphywere probably the most liberal person that had
ever been nominated for president. Andthat is you know, leads you to
a position of going, you know, you're right, this could be more
about policy than a personality. Well, the cutoff for baby boomers is nineteen
sixty four, which means they werefour years old the youngest of them in

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nineteen sixty eight for the convention.We have a different landscape now. The
youngest of the baby boomers are nowturning sixty this year, getting closer to
retirement. As we move forward,this huge bubble of baby boomers and their
aging population, how do you thinkthat's going to impact the election? Because
I know social security is a realproblem for America generally, and people who
are on Social Security don't want anyof it cut in any way, shape

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or form. So that represents asizeable voting block in so far as that
one issue is concerned. Absolutely,the number one issue is going to be
the election. We you and Ineed more handicapped lines at the voting booths
because we're all going to be goingthere in walkers and wheelchairs, all of
those zimmers. But the thing thatwill be happening is you're right, the

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whole idea of if you're going tocut spending, you have to cut in
titlements. Oh you know what,I'm a lot less for that now that
I'm in title and age. Yeah, And I was when I who was
twenty five. Yeah, my momis sixty or eighty four, and she
sees the writing on the at leastshe perceives the demise of our country down

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the road because of the direction we'regoing, and she's like, well,
at least I won't be around tolive through it. And I think that's
the attitude of a lot of babyboomers in so far as social security is
concerned. Yeah, Barry Goldwater wrotethe Coming Breakpoint, and it might have
been around sixty eight where she projectedthat cecial security was donnotate, it could
not be maintained throughout the history ofthe country. And it turns out he

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was right. Of course, there'snever been any change to it, never,
and only confirmed over and over andover again with every CBO report on
the status of social security since hisobservations way back in sixty eight. Rick
Robinson, author of the book nineteensixty eight, A Primer for Understanding baby
Boomers. Thanks for joining the program. Rick, It's always great having you
on and I'll wish you very safetravels and on time travels. Well,

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we'll wait and see and I'll textyou and see if I make it on
the next flight. About that,that'd be great. Good luck to that.
Rick. Your book is online atfifty five cars dot com on my
blog page, so folks can geta copy of it, and I will
definitely encourage them to do that.Really enjoy reading that book. Take care
of Rick eight twenty fifty five KRCDtalk Station twenty How about twenty two three
Route forty two between Mason and eleven. You can find them on line at

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